Safe or vault protecting device



May 18, 1943 H. H. PODJUS SAFE OR VAULT PBO'I' ECTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 13, 1941 Patented May 18, 1943 SAFE 0R VAULT PROTECTING Harry H. Podjus, Chicago, Ill., assignor of Onelf t L Keller, hica .1

Application January 13, 1941, Serial No. 374,213

1 Claim.

The present invention relatesgenerally to devices for protecting safes or vaults against unauthorized opening. More particularly the invention relates to that type of device which is adapted to be anchored in close proximity to, and serves as aprotecting medium for, the knobequipped dial of the safe or vault to which it is applied, and consists of a sealed or closed container which is filled with an incapacitating fluid and is formed of such frangible material that it is adapted to break or rupture and discharge its contents in the event that it is struck in con.- nection with an attempt to dislodge or remove the dial.

One object of the invention is to provide a safe or vault protecting device of this type which is an improvement upon, and has certain advantages over, previously designed devices of the same general character.

Another object of the invention i to provide a device of the type and character under consid eration in which the frangible fluid filled container is in the form of an annulus or ring shaped body and is adapted or designed to surround the dial knob ofthe safe or vault to which I it is applied.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a safe or vault protecting device of the last mentioned character in which the container, in addition to having a central opening or aperture for the knob of the dial, has an arcuate slot for rendering visible a portion of the scale on the dial.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a protecting device which is generally of new and improved construction and not only effectively and efliciently fulfills its intended purpose but also may be manufactured at a low and reasonable cost.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics of the present safe or vault protecting device will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by the claim at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification or disclosure and in which like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective of a safe having a protecting device embodying the invention around the knob-equipped dial thereof;

Figure 2 is a front view of the device; and

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 and illustrating in detail the construction and design of the fluid filled container constituting the device.

The device which is ShOWn in the drawing constitutes the preferred form or embodiment of the invention. It is illustrated in connection with a safe S and serves, as hereinafter described, as a medium or instrumentality for. protecting the safe against unauthorized opening. The safe S is of conventional construction and include a door 3 which is hinged at one side thereof so that it may be swung outwards into an open position in order to provide access to the safe interior. Releasable locking mechanism (not shown) is mounted on the inner face of the door 5 and serves to lock the door in it closed position. Such mechanism is controlled by a rotatable dial .9 and has a locking lever s? for shifting it into and out of its door locking position. The dial is mounted on the front face of the doors and has a central knob s whereby .it may be gripped by the fingers and rotated in connection with re.- lease or locking of the locking mechanism. A circular scale st is formed .on the margin, of the dial and this scale, as well understood in the art, is brought into play when the dial i turned or rotated in connection with release of the locking mechanism. The lever s is disposed adjacent the front face of the door and at one side of the dial. When the locking mechanism is released by proper manipulation of the dial s it may be shifted into its unlocked position by turning of the lever The device consists of an annular or ring shaped container 4 and a filling 5 of incapacitating fluid. The container surrounds and houses the dial s of the safe and is permanently anchored to the door s by way of self-locking or non-removable bolts 6. It is formed of frangible material, such as an aluminum alloy and consists of a front wall I, a rear wall 8, an inner side wall 9 and an outer side wall [0. The walls, as illus trated in the drawing, define a closed or sealed compartment II for the filling 5. The container is'so fragile that if subjected to a blow in connection with an attempt to dislodge or remove the knob-equipped dial s it fractures or ruptures and releases the filling 5 of incapacitating fluid. The rear wall 8 of the container is ring shaped, as shown in Figure 3. The outer margin of the rear wall is flat and fits flatly against the outer face of the door 8. It surrounds the dial and embodies apertured cars 12 for the bolts 6. The inner margin of the rear wall is forwardly bulged or dished in order to provide a pocket I 3 for'the dial The inner side wall 9 of the container is cylindrical and extends axially of the annulus and is of slightly greater diameter than the knob s of the dial. It surrounds the neck portion of the knob and together with the outer side wall It] serves to hold the front and rear walls in spaced relation. The inner margin of the front wall I surrounds the head of the knob and is rearwardly tapered or dished in order that the knob may be readily gripped by the fingers in connection with manipulation or turning of the dial. The outer margin of the front wall of the container is rearwardly rounded or curved so as to eliminate any sharp edges at the front outer I portion of the container. The outer side wall Ill is shaped to form notches it. Such notches are aligned with, and provide access to, the apertured ears [2 on the outer marginal portion of the rear wall 8. In order to render visible the upper portion of the scale s of the dial the container 4 is provided with a slot l5. This slot is arcuate or curved in conformity with the periphery of the dial and is located or disposed in the upper portion of the container.

The incapacitating fluid constituting the filling 5 is preferably chloropicrin or a like Volatile or readily vaporizable liquid. When the container is fractured or ruptured the filling 5 is released, as heretofore pointed out, and vaporizes into an incapacitating or noxious gas. It is now the practice in making an unauthorized attempt to open a safe to strike off the dial and then drive inwardly the dial supporting spindle. When the present device is in' place around the dial of a safe any attempt forciblyto dislodge the dial results in fracture or rupture of the container and the emission of the incapacitating fluid. The filling 5 is introduced into the container by way of an opening l6. Such opening is closed after the filling 5 has been introduced into the compartment l l by way of a plug [1 which is soldered or otherwise permanently secured in place. The compartment H is preferably packed with cotton or some other absorbent material which becomes saturated with the incapacitating fluid. The cotton or other material prevents any attempt to defeat the purpose of the device by drilling a hole in the container and draining off the liquid. Should a hole be drilled in the container there will be a suflicient quantity of the incapacitating fluid retained by the cotton or other material to produce the desired results in the event of a subsequent breaking or fracture of the container.

The herein described device effectively and efficiently fulfills its intended purpose and may be manufactured at a low and reasonable cost in View of the simplicity of its design or construction.

Whereas the device has been illustrated and described in connection with the dial of a safe it is to be understood that it may be employed as a protecting medium on the dial of a vault or like apparatus. 'It is also to be understood that the invention is notto be restricted to the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claim Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

As a new article of manufacture, a device designed to prevent unauthorized removal of a knob equipped dial from a safe or vault and comprising ahollow, annular container having a rear .wall, a front Wall, and an axially extending cylindrical wall joining said rear and front walls, said axially extending cylindrical wall being of slightly greater diameter than the diameter of said knob and being designed closely to surround said knob, said rear wall having a portion adapted to abut a surface of said safe or vault adjacent to said dial and also having a portion arranged to house the dial, said front wall being dished inwardly Where it joins said axially extending cylindrical wall, to facilitate grasping of the knob, said annular container being completely sealed and formed of readily fracturable material, and in addition being provided with a slot in the upper portion thereof for exposing a portion of said dial and having a filling of incapacitating fluid adapted upon fracture of the container to escape therefrom.

HARRY H. PODJUS. 

